Fulgardians (New Niehearts)
Backstory Not so long ago, most of the Nieheart kind has learned of the existence of other lands outside of their island Kambush. The most commonly spoke of land is Aria and Fei, the "main lands" of Elysium. The richest, strongest, and smartest Nieheart gathered together and travelled to Fei, to make a colony and expand their influence. They first encountered orcs, creatures similar to their enemy Orven except not as stupid and not as strong. The battle against the orcs was still gruesome, though, and lasted for a while. Eventually they came to a standstill, and the orcs left the Nieheart alone. The Nieheart began building their colony, with the aid of shipments of materials from the Nieheart King back in Kambush, and the protection of the God of War, Tacitus (Ta-ki-tus). New attacks from groups of orcs and dark elves allied together occurred, hoping they would defeat the new species that has come by ship, while losses were minimal it slowed progress, but the attacks were fended off for the most part. Over the years, the colony was finally finished, but staying on the ground was too inconvenient. The most intelligent sorcerer-class Nieheart grouped together, and mined under the ground below the center of their colony, creating a large cavity under the ground. Within that cavity they constructed a huge machine, using various Mana Conduits, ethereal essence generators and various pieces of Kambush tech and runes to make a field generator. This field generator created a powerful arcane field that encompassed the entire colony, and then once it was activated, the colony was lifted out of the ground and pulled into the sky. The field generator fuels itself, using multiple ethereal generators to provide arcane essence that is used to create the gravitational field that lifts it in the sky. Now, another issue arises, the temperature and the lack of protection. The natives of Fei have some technology unbeknownst to the Nieheart kind, capable of launching projectiles up into the sky. This colony was being shot at from the ground, certain Harpy's and other flying races saw this as an intrusion in their "realm", so they also flew into the colony and attacked the Nieheart. Though, flying units were no match for the God of War, the projectiles being launched from the ground were an issue, and so was the temperature, which weakened the Nieheart forces greatly. Eventually, four buildings were constructed around the edges of the colony. Each building helped build a "dome", or sphere, around the entire colony. This dome was weak at first, but it was capable of deflecting the projectiles, though it didn't stop the nuisances of flying creatures from attacking. It also helped regulate temperature, turning the cold temperature to a warm 120˚F within the dome, quite suitable for the Nieheart. Eventually, the assault from the ground stopped as they realized no progress was being made. Various cavities carved out around the gravitational generator that held the colony in the sky were made, and within them were more generators, runes, crystals, that were linked directly to the four generators that made the barrier around the floating colony. They helped strengthen the barrier, preventing teleportation through the barrier, stopping the flying creatures from breaking in and assaulting the Nieheart, and helping them fully establish their colony. They started to evolve, though. The Nieheart named their city Fulgarde, in respect of the God of War. The Nieheart began to call themselves Fulgardian, a race of Nieheart who evolved in the lands of Fei and resided in Fulgarde. In the present day, Fulgardians reside in the sky, eating away at luxurious foods, training against each other in enjoyable gladiatorial matches and competing against each other in a friendly way. The Fulgardians were connected as a family, and while still evolving from Nieheart, were still different in many aspects. Appearance They are no longer large as orcs with brutish muscles, despite still maintaining their training and gladiatorial fights they no longer have opponents such as the Orven to challenge them, since they reside in a protected colony in the sky. They are still larger than humans, but not to the size of the orcs, somewhere between that. Their skin colors now vary from shades of white to a mix between the african colors (Of Earth) and the whites, the african hued Fulgardians no different than the others besides skin color. They are basically humans in appearance, except with more muscle and size, but not to the point of orcs. They also have bright cyan or bright yellow eyes, bright cyan signifies a higher connection towards arcane arts and magic, while the bright yellow signifies the shutting out of magic and heavier focus on raw strength. Saying this, Fulgardians with the cyan eyes will usually be better in sorcery while having the strength of humans, but the yellow eyed ones will usually not know any sorcery, but can have great strength. Most Fulgardians are in fact mesomorphs. Society Fulgardian society is different than Kambush Nieheart society, but still similar. Rankings: King; One person, can make decisions based on agreement by the council; can get overruled by the people. Council; Helps the King in making most if not all decisions, 6 to 12 people. God of War; Strongest person in Fulgarde, decided via competition that takes place yearly. Paladins; Smaller army of powerful Fulgardians who utilize Magic and Strength; Protects Fulgarde Knight; Strong units who utilize strength to protect Fulgarde. Worker Class; Citizens who do various tasks to help improve Fulgarde as whole; do not get special privileges. Citizens; Those who inhabit Fulgarde. Low-Class Citizens; Inhabitants of Fulgarde who aren't Fulgardians (Nieheart) or aren't pure of blood, don't get as many privileges as pure-blood Fulgardians. Society works in a way where the people have most of the power, they can submit certain things to the council for review, the council will make a decision and try to influence the King's decision on the subject, then the King submits his decision to the public for review. Then, the people take a vote on whether they disagree or agree with the decision. If the majority of the public agrees, then the decision is made, if they disagree, then the process repeats. If it is even, as equal votes for both agree or disagree, then the king can break the tie and will have the ultimate decision. Most decisions can be made by the King himself without submitting it to the people, but if the people do not like the decision they can submit their opinion to the council for review, then the council will decide what happens. New kings are chosen every thousand years, based on a vote by the people, then selected by the council based on the votes. New council members are appointed every time one of them dies, meaning they are council members for life. Paladins are appointed by the council and then approved or denied by the King, Knights are selected by the council and Worker Class citizens are made by citizens requesting labor to help better the community. Laws: WIP Abilities Fulgardians are born via intercourse between male and female Fulgardians, and since they evolved from regular Nieheart they retained the life-span, stretching up to 5000 years, reaching full maturity at age 30 and stopping the aging process for 4870 years, beginning to age again if they reach 4900 years old, and will continue to age until they die. Very rarely is there a Fulgardian who makes it past 5000 years old, but if they do it is never until 5010 years old, the average being 4960-4970 years old. Strength is a devolved factor of their biology. They are smaller than regular Nieheart, but still larger than human. Despite this, they are born with slightly above average human strength. The average ranges around that, but if training is focused on strength and muscles alone then they can stretch their strength levels up to that of an orc, rarely being able to surpass the strength around average orcs if they devote their life to training. Their durability is high, too, but it only slightly increases with strength training, they're born with the durability of that orcs have, this is natural durability, of course. Magic is another thing inherited from the old Nieheart. They contain very high magic potential, but are born with only a sliver of it. Their bodies are attuned to fire, giving them the same fire-absorbing abilities as the old Nieheart, as well as heat/thermal immunity. Their bodies can absorb high amounts of thermal/heat energy, allowing them to transmute it into Mana, energy for strength, energy for speed/agility, oxygen to breathe, and energy for the body to replace eating or drinking. The thermal/heat energy can also be dispersed and controlled, but the ability to control it is very feeble unless trained. The more a Fulgardian trains their magic, the harder it is for them to strengthen themselves physically. The more a Fulgardian trains their strength, the more they shut out their arcane abilities. If a Fulgardian's body is at its limit for fire/thermal energy, a radiant red aura will emit around them because of how much energy is stored, and all other fire/thermal energy will just be deflected, since it is unable to be absorbed. This ability has been seen to be ignored in some cases when exposed to very powerful anti-magic, it does not stop their ability to absorb but it does stop them from deflecting, which will result in fire damage. The Fulgardians retained their nature abilities, surrounding their city with various flora and fauna from both regions of Fei and Kambush. They also retained their ability to connect with nature on an empathetic level, which can be used in many scenarios that take place in a natural environment. Fulgardians can "speak" to nature, allowing them to expand their senses and find out if there are certain people or creatures hiding in trees or bushes, or allowing them to sense the fauna in the area. They also have received the immunity towards the majority of natural poisons that come from herbs and such, and have the exceptional sense of smell for such things if it is put in drinks, foods, et cetera. Most animals, insects, et cetera, are also nicer or more docile towards Fulgardians, and some of the lesser minded ones can even be mind controlled by Fulgardians to be used in various ways. Apart from this, they also retained the ability to draw energy from nature around them, which can be used to heal themselves or others, or transmute into mana. This natural energy can heal wounds, illnesses and poisons to a certain degree, and even suppress most lesser curses that aren't potent enough to survive the amount of natural energy used. In most cases, skilled Fulgardians can use this natural energy to give life to dead animals, dead plants, or even dead humans/other races, though it is dependant on how much damage is done to said entity and how long they have been dead. (Usually can't be done if the entity has been dead for over an hour). Fulgardians have strong brains, due to them existing for a long time they have undergone many evolutionary processes, despite being small most of them included their ability to survive and their brains, giving them the ability to retain most if not all information they learn, making them quick learners. They can steal abilities if their bodies are capable of doing them and they watch someone else do said ability, even if said ability is done only once they have the ability to remember it and their body can replicate it under certain conditions. Their strong minds also leave room for telepathic ability. They have been able to establish weak "telepathy" with animals and such, being able to mind control them, et cetera, but if a Fulgardian were to train this ability then they could reach levels of making telepathic communication between other sentient creatures and beyond, and it doesn't stop there. If trained enough, they would be able to mind control the unsuspecting victim, though this mind control is easily broken if the will of the victim and their mind is able to break free. (This is determined through a series of rolls). Despite their telepathic capability, telekinesis is not possible due to the configuration of their brain. Though, with the assistance of magic, it is possible, but rarely done due to its difficulty and possible backfiring + headache inducement and pain. Because of this, they have a natural, yet small, resistance towards telepathic control, telepathic/mental attacks, and are capable of resisting telekinesis of a low degree if they can focus and have the willpower to do so. This, of course, will increase if this field is trained. Through the large evolution from Nieheart to Fulgardian, they retained their ability to heal. The regeneration rate is 1 cubic centimeter every 50 seconds, which is 0.02Cm cubed every second. This goes for all parts of their body, bone and muscle and skin. Their ability to regenerate limbs after hours and even regenerate organs at a rate of 1 cubic centimeter every 100 seconds is very impressive, and actually comes from their golden blood. Their blood is gold, and it is capable of channeling mana with insane efficiency and even amplifies the mana channeled through it slightly. Their blood can not only channel and store mana, but it was commonly harvested by the Orven to be used in certain alchemical potions that create healing or regenerating potions, which can heal illnesses, heal wounds, or increase regeneration speed for a fixed period of time. The blood was also able to be altered to restore mana and give small boosts to magic for a short time. Any dismembered limbs will not deteriorate if it still has blood stored in it, as it will keep the tissue in the limb active until the blood is drained, which will result in quick deterioration. Weaknesses Fulgardians still have a major weakness towards frost or ice, or cold regions. Cold temperatures, usually starting below 50˚F, will start to take effect on Fulgardians. While in cold regions, such as Himmel or other areas similar to its temperature, Fulgardians will lose their ability to function. It doesn't happen instantly, but depending on the temperature they will start to lose strength, mental functionality, speed, their metabolism slows, their ability to channel mana and their focus will degrade, and they get frostbite easier and quicker than most humans, and will also result in death if they stay in such areas for too long. Frost or ice magic is highly despised by Fulgardians as it has the ability to kill them quickly and with ease, as it those types of magic have 200% effectiveness on Fulgardians in comparison to other races such as Human. It is very deadly towards their bodies and minds. Fulgardians will usually take it very seriously if someone is using ice magic or similar magic near them, usually confronting them and informing them of the risk it is to them, and will stray from cold regions such as Himmel. This is not really a "weakness", but due to their arrogance they sometimes underestimate opponents and situations, leading to their defeat in some scenarios, and will almost always accept challenges to prove themselves or just because they'll enjoy it. They take insults very seriously, as they are usually prideful, and will take action against those who continue to insult them, their achievements, their strength, or their family, or their race as a whole. Darkness is also a weakness they have, as it corrupts them. Darkness can easily corrupt a Fulgardian, destroying their bodies and preventing regeneration, while at the same time destroying their mana supply. While the darkness is not a threat as it is gone from the region, certain forces of dark magic, corruption magic, chaos magic, et cetera, magic that branches off from the darkness also has the same effect on them. Materials that are infused with the darkness or certain forces of magic that branched off of it, or with particularly necromantic or dark origins also have the same effect if a Fulgardian is harmed by said material. As stated earlier, Fulgardians can really only focus on one attribute, strength or magic. Though there are the Fulgardians, such as the Paladins, who can balance it out and utilize both magic and having advanced strength, yet not to the point of orcs, more like halfway between human and orc, it is hard to do so, usually leaving Fulgardians to either choose strength or magic. Fulgardians are incapable of practicing dark magics, limiting their fields of available magic they can practice if they choose to do so, and they are strongest in the fields of fire and attuned to it, making it harder for them to practice such magic fields, but still possible, even though they take more damage from offensive water magic cast by others. Personality Fulgardians personality varies, but there are some aspects that are shared commonly amongst them. One aspect is their pride, they can be very proud of their achievements, and will be very competitive amongst each other, but in more of a friendly/family/fun way rather than super aggressive. Fulgardians have a special bond amongst each other, and will defend one another even if it means risking their life. Despite having orcish blood lust in their past, they are more civil. They love fighting, sparring all the time and hosting gladiatorial matches (Though not to the death), but they aren't savages, and do it for fun and to better themselves. Fulgardians are nicer towards nature, seeing as they have a connection to it, and will usually find an interest in most flora/fauna, and will be more aggressive towards those who seek to destroy it for foolish reasons other than actual needs such as eating or protecting themselves. Fulgardians are very honorable, and will never tell a lie unless there is a very serious reason to do so, and will really never hold back the truth even if it is personal. They are also loyal, respectful, but Fulgardians in specific will sometimes refer to other races as "Mortals". This is because of their lifespan, their ability to be as strong as orcs or as powerful as most sorcerers, and their lifespan, as well as many other features. They do not refer to themselves as Gods, but instead proudly call themselves Fulgardians, and prefer that term rather than mortal, and will mostly correct anyone who refers to them as mortal. Fulgardians also do not agree with crossbreeding, and will cast out any Fulgardian who commits it, though this is rarely ever done due to mostly all Fulgardians sharing this belief. Fulgardians also do not agree with homosexuality/bisexuality, and no Fulgardian has ever been born with such a trait, though they do not discriminate other races doing it it is said they will cast out any Fulgardian who commits such a thing, though it has never been done due to it not being a trait amongst them. Faith/Religion Fulgardians, like Nieheart, do not practice religions. They must see things to believe it, usually leading to suspicion on what others say until actually seeing it, though this isn't always the case as some things are easy to believe without actually be represented proof of its existence. Despite this, they do have a "God of War". The God of War is not the same as a deity or "god", the God of War is a person who is supposedly the strongest amongst all Fulgardians, and the God of War is determined each year at a tournament where anyone is free to enter, but the current God of War must attend. If anyone beats the current God of War, then they become the God of War. If the God of War refuses to attend, then he is stripped of the rank and whoever wins the tournament becomes the new God of War. The title of God of War is a tremendous honor, as you will be remembered in history as one of the strongest Fulgardians. Now, this title does not grant you any special privileges, not those that are required at least. People may treat you differently as they wish, they are not required to treat you differently, but seeing as you hold such title they will most likely treat you with more honor than others as Fulgardians respect strength. Having the title, though, means you must answer when called upon by the King or any Paladins to protect Fulgarde or do certain tasks that require your assistance. The God of War may also partake in council meetings, but they are not required to. Authors Note; It is highly recommended that you ask me to play this race before you do. Just because you can play without my permission doesn't mean you should. Just because you can play the race doesn't mean you can make your character a high rank in Fulgarde, which is not finished in construction yet. If you make your character a Fulgardian, they must be a citizen, and please follow the race exactly and do not powergame or make a super OP character with it. The lore is not finished, there is no such thing as finished lore as there will always be updates, changes, et cetera. That's what I believe, anyways, and I will always update this and add on more or change portions of it, so do make sure to check back at least once a month to see if anything changed. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, I will add much more in the future but this is all I could get done so far. Also, some stuff may either not make sense, be missing something, or not finished. I wrote a lot all in one session, so don't expect it to look 100% until I make a few more sessions for reviewing and editing. Thanks! Sincerely, MasterThor Current Fulgardians/Nieheart: MasterThor - Tacitus, Rank: God of War Nobody else, just MasterThor because he is a loner.